


confessing seems just a little bit pointless with a guy like you

by unculturedegg



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: (Post-S2 and Pre-Rising), Fumbling Love Confessions, Kissing, POV Second Person, Post-Canon, SORRY THIS IS JUST WORDY AF!!!!!!!!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 17:20:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12775773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unculturedegg/pseuds/unculturedegg
Summary: “What’s so funny, Bunny,” he asks, then laughs to himself. You roll your eyes as he kicks his feet up and passes you the remote. Unfortunately, it’s his night to pick a movie, and as soon as the title screen loads you’re rolling your eyes again -- another cheesy old action flick, which you'll undoubtedly hate.“I just think you should hire a maid or get some new friends. I’m getting tired of either reminding you to do your dishes or getting swindled into doing them for you.”





	confessing seems just a little bit pointless with a guy like you

“Hey, Bunny, do you think people think you’re weird?” 

You’re crouched behind his television, attempting to detangle the mess of wires and connect his DVD player, when Kotetsu plops down with two takeout boxes and two cans of beer. You wipe your dusty hands on your pants and stand, raising a brow as you take your seat next to him on his old white couch.

“What?” 

He shovels in a heaping spoonful and hums in satisfaction before speaking, mouth full, “Well, you know, people don’t know I’m Wild Tiger, so it probably looks strange when a young guy like you hangs out with some old geezer all the time, right?”

You cover your mouth with your hand as you laugh. “I think they probably imagine you’re very cool, considering you're with _the_ Barnaby Brooks Jr. all day.” He snorts and nods to himself, digging back into his plate.

“But don’cha think they wonder about your other friends?” His attention goes back to his food, but your spoon pauses in the air. 

“I don’t have any other friends, Kotetsu.” He meets your eyes and fights a smile at the corner of his lips. “That’s untrue, Bunny, what about the other heroes?” You shrug, lazily dragging your gaze across his face as he shoves his spoon into his mouth.

“What about them? I can’t see myself inviting any of them to my house, but you’re there every time we’re not at your place, right?” He nods, and you grin. “So, it’s different.” He grins back. 

The two of you eat in comfortable silence. When you’re both finished, you stand first and stretch before reaching for your plates. Kotetsu grabs for his own, protest on his lips, but you yank it out of his reach. In the kitchen, you slide them carefully into the half-full sink. A part of you is sure that if it weren’t for you, he’d never think to do the dishes at all, which makes you snicker as you return to your seat.

“What’s so funny, Bunny,” he asks, then laughs to himself. You roll your eyes as he kicks his feet up and passes you the remote. Unfortunately, it’s his night to pick a movie, and as soon as the title screen loads you’re rolling your eyes again -- another cheesy old action flick, which he knows you hate.

“I just think you should hire a maid or get some new friends. I’m getting tired of either reminding you to do your dishes or getting swindled into doing them for you.”

He rubs his neck sheepishly up at you as you pass him the remote and he presses play. “I guess I am pretty lucky. I have you and Kaede to keep me on track, what more could a guy need?”

He smiles easily and tucks his hands behind his head, back against the couch cushions. You laugh, only half-paying attention to what he said, but when you process the words you blink owlishly in surprise. When you look back, he’s fully engrossed in the movie, even though he’s probably seen it a few times at least. 

Who just _says_ that? Your heart beats hard in your chest, and embarrassingly enough your face darkens. He looks over, some commentary on his lips, and catches you fully staring at him. Well, that certainly doesn’t help the redness situation. You frown and cross your arms, turning to hide the flush on your cheeks. 

“Don’t say things like that off the cuff, old man,” you say flatly, wiggling a scolding finger, “and don’t compare me to your daughter.” 

He laughs and reaches over to ruffle your hair, but you dodge and deliver a sharp smack to his wrist. This only serves to make him laugh harder and try again, so you sigh and concede. He buries his fingers into your curls and brushes through, watching the individual hairs bounce back into place again and again.

“I really don’t know what you mean, Bunny,” he mumbles after a pause, shrugging as he lets his arm rest on the back of the couch casually. “You two are the most important people in my life, and that’s no secret.” He takes a healthy swig from his can of beer, and you hide your red face behind your own can, thankful for the near-darkness. 

His arm lingers behind you, alternating between picking at the old stitching and curling a lock of your hair around his fingers, and for the first time you’re grateful for his terrible taste in movies -- the explosions cover your overly enthusiastic heartbeat.

After a few scenes, he groans and scrubs a hand across his face. “What’re you looking at me like that for?” 

You tilt your head to the side curiously. “Was I looking at you?” You definitely were, even without meaning to, which is something you find yourself doing a lot when you’re off the clock. He shoots you an unfooled look as he scratches at his beard. 

You shrug apologetically and begin to look away, which earns you a whine of, “Bunny!” So you look back over, half-amused smile begrudgingly tugging at your lips anyway. 

“Can I help you?” 

He groans and wraps his arm around your shoulders, tugging you against him easily. “Come on, I can practically feel the thought waves coming off your brain. What’s going on in there?” He taps your forehead with the tip of his index finger. 

You shake your head dismissively, smiling the TV smile you know he hates and shying from his touch. “It’s nothing.”

“I hate that!” he confirms with a whisper, frustration furrowing his brow before he looks back up. “Come on, Bunny, it’s unfair! You always gimme that bullshit smile and,” he wrinkles his nose and waves his free hand in front of him for emphasis, “get all weird! After all we’ve been through, I trust you, and I want you to trust me enough to open up!” 

He’s right; you sigh and slide your glasses up to pinch the bridge of your nose. “I’ll say it again, don’t say things like that so candidly.” He throws his hands in the air with an incredulous noise. “But I mean it!”

You turn back to the television pointedly and cross your arms again. His eyes burn holes into the side of your face, but you need to think, his impatience be damned. You've had this fight at least a hundred times in the last few months, and it’s honestly a wonder he hasn’t seen through your piss poor rebuttals by now. 

(And that’s without mentioning the meddling of the other heroes. You’d let it slip while talking to Nathan on a particularly lovelorn day, and despite your fervent attempts to dissuade them, once word spread there was really nothing you could do.)

After a short time, you shift and face him again. His attention returned briefly to the film, but as soon as you so much as twitch his eyes lock with yours. You raise your beer to your lips, unable to break the contact as you take a long, steeling swig.

“Do you really want to know?” Your voice is soft, and he looks incredulously back at you. Okay, you'll admit that was a stupid question. 

“There’s just no going back once I say it, alright?” He scoffs and throws his hands up in exasperation. “You’re speaking in riddles again, jesus!”

You clench your trembling fists a few times in annoyance. Kotetsu is nearly unreadable when it comes to this sort of thing, and adding your humiliation into the mix only increases your hesitation. It’d be generous to even call you a romantic novice, and with your partner’s incessant nosiness you’ve tried to delay the topic as long as possible. He just doesn’t get it sometimes, doesn’t get _you_ sometimes, and you suppose it’s your own damn fault for keeping everything close to your chest. Damn if he isn’t right again, per usual, and damn if his gaze isn’t scorching with intensity when you finally look back up.

“I just think you shouldn’t say things like that because it makes me want to kiss you.” The words tumble out before you can do any second guessing, and it’s like the world goes in half time. If you weren’t squeezing your entangled fingers so intensely they’d likely snap to cover your mouth in some futile attempt to force the words back inside.

Only a few seconds pass with your gazes unwavering and your face burning under his scrutiny, but it feels like years. Then, softly, Kotetsu laughs under his breath. Hot shame rolls over you in waves, and your sympathetic nervous system kick-starts. Shit, shit, shit, is all you can think, and your mind trips over itself to find a way out of this.

Your breath catches in your throat as he tucks his fingers under your chin and tilts your head up to kiss you. His chapped lips are warm against your own, and even though they’ve been caught a little awkwardly, it’s like a balloon pops in your chest. You’re flooded with relief, electricity, unadulterated joy and something that makes your lashes flutter and fall shut. 

It’s over as soon as it began, which tugs your heart miserably. “I almost missed,” he whispers, sheepish. Your eyes blink open and focus on his flushed face, mere inches from your own. “Sorry, Bunny.” 

Now it’s your turn to laugh, an unguarded little noise that makes the corners of his lips curl up. You take a handful of Kotetsu’s shirt and tug him back against your mouth. 

Stupidly, you’re almost nervous that he won’t kiss back, but he does. He only stops when he bumps against your shoulder in an attempt to free the arms you trapped between your own when grabbing him. You part long enough for him to mumble, “sorry, I just -- I gotta touch your hair,” before he threads his fingers through a fistful and finds your lips again.

Your heart turns somersaults in your chest with each lazy movement, and as much as you’d love to remember this for later, your brain has pretty much short-circuited. After a while you part again, chests heaving, and just look at each other. Kotetsu’s lips part in a wide, dopey smile, and when you finally manage to form coherent thought again you realize your cheeks hurt too.

A giggle bubbles up from your stomach, and you cover your face with your hands, kicking your feet giddily. The childishness of the gesture should probably be embarrassing, but your chest expands for the first time in what feels like years and that feeling drowns out all of your worries.

Kotetsu wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you close, and you bury your face in his neck instead.

**Author's Note:**

> this probably doesn't make a lot of sense but i just needed to get it out of my brain & on paper. i'm considering this my official comeback to enjoying fics, and i look forward to actually writing some thoughtful t&b content (aka character studies, the only shit i ever do).
> 
> title from "weird around you" by eerie summer


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